Special Report: Remedial Enrollments Surged at UCSD amid Shifting Placement Testing Conditions
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| Title: | Special Report: Remedial Enrollments Surged at UCSD amid Shifting Placement Testing Conditions |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Pamela Burdman, Just Equations |
| Source: | Just Equations. 2026. |
| Availability: | Just Equations. 678 13th Street, Oakland, CA 94612. Tel: 510-394-4858; e-mail: info@justequations.org; Web site: https://justequations.org/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 3 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Mathematics Education, Higher Education, College Mathematics, Remedial Mathematics, Enrollment Rate, Underserved Students, Student Placement, College Readiness, Testing, Testing Problems, Educational Environment |
| Geographic Terms: | California (San Diego) |
| Abstract: | The release of a faculty report from the University of California, San Diego in November 2025 set off a firestorm of news coverage and op-eds about college-level math preparation. Much of the coverage has painted a deficit view of students, blaming the trend of declining math performance on UC San Diego's increased enrollment of underserved students--a conclusion drawn from the report itself. In this special report, Pamela Burdman examines the conclusion that the "excessive increase" in students needing precollege math courses was directly attributed to enrollments from LCFF+ schools. In fact, as UCSD's own data reveal, even as the number of LCFF+ students was stagnant or declining, precollege math enrollments continued to rise. By exploring this pattern, Burdman uncovers a significant change in the administration of UCSD's Math Placement Exam that was not acknowledged within the faculty report. Highlighting the need for greater transparency around measures of math preparation, Burdman notes that a shift in placement testing conditions--prohibiting the use of calculators--may have contributed to the increased identification of underprepared students who were assigned to precollege courses in fall 2024 and fall 2025. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED679607 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 CustomLinks: – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED679607 Name: ERIC Full Text Category: fullText Text: Full Text from ERIC |
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| Header | DbId: eric DbLabel: ERIC An: ED679607 AccessLevel: 3 PubType: Report PubTypeId: report PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Special Report: Remedial Enrollments Surged at UCSD amid Shifting Placement Testing Conditions – Name: Language Label: Language Group: Lang Data: English – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pamela+Burdman%22">Pamela Burdman</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Just+Equations%22">Just Equations</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Just+Equations%22"><i>Just Equations</i></searchLink>. 2026. – Name: Avail Label: Availability Group: Avail Data: Just Equations. 678 13th Street, Oakland, CA 94612. Tel: 510-394-4858; e-mail: info@justequations.org; Web site: https://justequations.org/ – Name: PeerReviewed Label: Peer Reviewed Group: SrcInfo Data: Y – Name: Pages Label: Page Count Group: Src Data: 3 – Name: DatePubCY Label: Publication Date Group: Date Data: 2026 – Name: TypeDocument Label: Document Type Group: TypDoc Data: Reports - Research – Name: Audience Label: Education Level Group: Audnce Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink> – Name: Subject Label: Descriptors Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mathematics+Education%22">Mathematics Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Mathematics%22">College Mathematics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Remedial+Mathematics%22">Remedial Mathematics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Enrollment+Rate%22">Enrollment Rate</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Underserved+Students%22">Underserved Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Placement%22">Student Placement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Readiness%22">College Readiness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Testing%22">Testing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Testing+Problems%22">Testing Problems</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Environment%22">Educational Environment</searchLink> – Name: Subject Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22California+%28San+Diego%29%22">California (San Diego)</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The release of a faculty report from the University of California, San Diego in November 2025 set off a firestorm of news coverage and op-eds about college-level math preparation. Much of the coverage has painted a deficit view of students, blaming the trend of declining math performance on UC San Diego's increased enrollment of underserved students--a conclusion drawn from the report itself. In this special report, Pamela Burdman examines the conclusion that the "excessive increase" in students needing precollege math courses was directly attributed to enrollments from LCFF+ schools. In fact, as UCSD's own data reveal, even as the number of LCFF+ students was stagnant or declining, precollege math enrollments continued to rise. By exploring this pattern, Burdman uncovers a significant change in the administration of UCSD's Math Placement Exam that was not acknowledged within the faculty report. Highlighting the need for greater transparency around measures of math preparation, Burdman notes that a shift in placement testing conditions--prohibiting the use of calculators--may have contributed to the increased identification of underprepared students who were assigned to precollege courses in fall 2024 and fall 2025. – Name: AbstractInfo Label: Abstractor Group: Ab Data: As Provided – Name: DateEntry Label: Entry Date Group: Date Data: 2026 – Name: AN Label: Accession Number Group: ID Data: ED679607 |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED679607 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Languages: – Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 3 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Mathematics Education Type: general – SubjectFull: Higher Education Type: general – SubjectFull: College Mathematics Type: general – SubjectFull: Remedial Mathematics Type: general – SubjectFull: Enrollment Rate Type: general – SubjectFull: Underserved Students Type: general – SubjectFull: Student Placement Type: general – SubjectFull: College Readiness Type: general – SubjectFull: Testing Type: general – SubjectFull: Testing Problems Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational Environment Type: general – SubjectFull: California (San Diego) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Special Report: Remedial Enrollments Surged at UCSD amid Shifting Placement Testing Conditions Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Just Equations – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Pamela Burdman IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 02 Type: published Y: 2026 Titles: – TitleFull: Just Equations Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
